Marine engine control



March 11, 1952 Filed Feb. 24. 1949 J. F. MORSE MARINE ENGINE CONTROL 3Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

l Jbzz FMors'c Pfff? @bmw March 11,v 1952 1 Fl MORSE 2,588,650

MARINE ENGINE CONTROL Filed Feb. 24. 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 l INVENTOR.i"."

. fo/Em FII/onse 3 BY 74 '77 36 35 60 @bmw March 11, 1952 J. F. MORSEMARINE ENGINE coNTRoL.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 24. 1949 IN V EN TOR. .John F/Wons'e BYPatented Mar. 11, 1952 `r UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,588,650

MARINE ENGINE CONTROL .ohn F. Morse, Hudson, Ohio Application February24, 1949,- seriai No. 78,029

11 claims. (Cl. 19e-098) The present invention relates to the improve;-ment of control mechanisms especially designed for marine engines,although it is not necessarily limited to this particular case and maybe employed whenever conditions and requirements are similar to thoseencountered in the operation andtcontrol of marine engines. i

The purpose of the invention is to devise and perfect a controlmechanism by which the pilot may, with the manipulation of a singlelever', operate the clutch and gear shifting devices on the engine andthe throttle by which the speed of 'the .engine is controlled. Thedevice is so constructed and arranged lthat these operations may be.carried out-without danger of stalling or Jblast'ing the engine in goingfrom forward to reverse or from reverse to forward. This property isparticularly desirable in maneuvering the craft in emergencies where itmay be necessary to reverse the engine suddenly to avoid collision.Itis-also anobject of the invention to provide a mechanism' of this typewhich will protect both the engine and the clutch by timing theoperation ofthe clutch and the throttle automatically.

The device shown and described herein is particularly adapted for usewith marine engine installations which employ hydraulic shifting devicesand is in the natureof an improvement of the device shown in my priorapplication Serial No. 15,546, led March 18, 1948. I By the use of theimproved control mechanism shown and described herein, the operation .ofmarine engines-is simplified-and accidents which arise either frominexperience or from 'sudden action are prevented. I Incorporating thecontrol device fin 'a single lever permits the pilot to maneuver theboat while still maintaining control of the power plant. The inventionfurther provides for regulation of the engine at the speeds requisitefor the most efcient operation of the boat. The mechanism has beengreatly simpliiiedover prior devices for like purposes..

The -best known and preferred embodiment of the invention 'is shown-anddescribed, but this is' not to be understood as limiting or confiningthe' practice of -the invention to devices which are like in everyrespect tothe one shown herein 'because modifications and improvementsmay be made `which do not depart fromthe invention Aas set forth in theappended claims.

In lthe drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevation looking at the rear of the device, the parts atthis time being .in neutral. Fig. 2 is .a view taken at'right angles vtoFig. 1, the control box or unit being shown .in Vsection on thellineZ-'a ofF-ig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view looking at the ygearing Which operates the controllevers for vthe clutch and throttle, the viewl being taken on the line3-l-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a similar view, but showing the position of the operatinggears when the throttle is fully opened.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the throttle lever atfully open position ahead.

Fig. 6 is a View similar to Fig. 2, but showing themanner in which thethrottle lever operates to control the speed of the engine in neutral.

Fig. 7 is a view looking at the front of the device.

Fig. 8 is aside view thereof.

Fig. 9 is a developed View of the rack or plate which provides the stopsfor the several positions of the throttle lever.

The mechanism yshown herein is simple and compact, `being housed inamain casing or housing IIJ which is supported in convenient position forthe :pilot on :the bulkhead or a control pedestal (not shown) by meanssuch as the screws 2I .set at points around the perimeter of thehousing. At the rear Yof the vhousing is a U-shaped bracket I2, the armsof which are received lin .vertical bores I3 formed in bosses I5 on-therear of the housing and held therein by set screws I4.

The front of the housing is .closed by a face plate 2i! which .issecured `in place by bolts 22 threaded into the housing. The housing andAface plate are approximately oval in form,A and the housing is formedon its side adjacent the 4face :plate with Aalarge circular vrecess 25above and communicating with which is a smaller circular recess 26. andbelow and likewise communicating therewithv is a :second smallercircular recess 2I In these lthree recesses arelocated, respectively,the master or vmain operating gear 28, the gear 29 for operating thethrottle and the gear .30 for .operating the clutch and gear shiftingmechanisms (not shown). The clutch and gear shifting mechanism isusually hydraulically operated by any of the well known types of servomotors now .in common use for the purpose.

.Referring :particularly to Figs. 3 and 4,- it wi -l be seen that --eachof the said operating gears is an. interrupted or mutilated gea-r andeach is provided. with `smooth .mating peripheral por'- tions whichserve to hold the gears 29 and 3l) .in their idle positions. Thus themaster gear 28 has two arcuate sets of teeth aand b lon either side of.a smooth segment -,c',. and smooth segments d and el `onether side ofHa .shorter '000th :portion 1 located opposite the segment ,cf Thetoothed `portions a and vb are .designed to. on-

piate 2'0. g y `shaft is mounted the throttle lever or operaterate thegear 29 and the toothed portion .f to operate the gear 30.

p The gear 29 is toothed over the maior portion of its periphery, asindicated at g so as to be engaged and driven by the gear segments a orb, depending upon whether the engine is in forward or reverse. The gapin the toothed periphery of the gear 29 is supplied with a smooth,concave arc segment h adapted to ride upon the portion c of the gear 28'when the engine is in neutral, and during the range from idling forwardto idling in reverse.

The gear is provided with a short toothed segment i to mesh with the,segmenti on the main gear 28. On either side of the segment i, the gear3U is provided with smooth, concave surfaces 7' adapted to ride on thesurface d or e of the gear 28, depending upon whether the engine is inforward or reverse.

When the engine is in neutral as shown in Fig. 3, the gears 28 and 30are meshed, but the gear 29 is immovable because of the engagement ofthe surfaces c and h. If the gear 28 is rotated clockwise as shown inFig...4, which is ahead as the drawings show, the rst operation is torotate the gear 30 to the positionshown in Fig. 4 which, by themechanism to be described, operates the clutch and puts the engine inforward. The operation takes up onlyV a portion of the movement of thegear 28, and thereafter the gear 30 is held in position as shown in Fig.4.

At the moment that the gear 30 is thrown to its position on either sideof neutral, the segments a or b, as the case may be, engage the teeth onthe gear 29 and the gear is now rotated to open the throttle. Thearcuate movement of the gear 28 is positively arrested in eitherdirection by the contact of the forward which is pivotally connected atits outer end to a rod 5I) which is connected to the cable 5I thatextends to the clutch control and operating device. Conveniently theassembly of the rod 50 and the cable 5I may be connected to a rockingclip 52 located on a .plate I1 xed to the bracket I2.

The sleeve 42referredA to above lextends to the rear of the housing, andon the end of this sleeve is clamped a lever arm, indicated as a wholeby the numeral 55, which is connected to av rod 56, the lower end ofwhich is, in turn, connected to a cable 58 leading to the enginethrottle. The assembly of the rod 56 and cable 58 may be connected to arocking clip 59 located on a plate I6 on the bracket I2.

tooth of segment a or b with the smooth face of the gear 30.

In going from full forward to reverse, the mas- 'ter gear 28 firstrotates the gear 29 to close the throttle and while the gear 29 is heldin closed position of the throttle, the continued movement of the mastergear now picks up the gear 30 by engagement of the toothed segments ,fand i. If the pilot wishes to go into reverse immediately, he continuesthe movement of the throttle lever -and the gear 30 is shifted intoreverse.' and the throttle is opened immediately thereafter. v y

It will be seen'that the pilot may thus throw his engine from forward to-reverse, or reverse to forward, by 'a single movement of the throttlelever and the engine lwillbeeslowed down before( the clutch isdisengaged and accelerated after the clutch is reengaged. The gears givea regular lprogression in the opening and 'closingmovements and not anuneven progression as is obtained by the regular Genera Atype gear- The,master gear 28 nis xed' tcY an operating shaft 35 mounted in rollerbearings 36 and. 31 set in recesses in the housing AIII and in the faceOn the projecting outer end of this which reference has been made. shank4I ing arm 40 to The gear 25 is provided with a long which is secured toa sleeve 42 which is rontatable in bearings 44 mounted in recesses inthe housingV I0 and the face plate 20. "The gear 3B is secured to ashaft 45 mounted in bearings 46 in the housing and the face plate. 'Therear kof this shaft projects through the housing and 'about the shaft-is clamped thevlever arm 48 It will` thus be 'seen that, when thethrottle lever is in vertical position, the engine is in neutral and thethrottle closed to its idle run- -ning position, but that when the leveris rocked to the right or left in a plane parallel to the housing, theclutch is engaged in forward or reverse and the throttle is opened tothe extent to which the lever 48 may be moved. It is necessary toprovide means for accelerating the engine while it -is in neutral, suchas in` starting and warming up the engine. For this purpose themechanism is designed as will now be described. y

The throttle lever 40 is not rigid with the shaft 35 of the master gear,but is pivoted thereto by the pin 60 so that the lever may be rocked ina plane transverse to the plane of the housing. It is through thismovement of the lever while in neutral position that the engine may beaccelerated while in neutral, and it is also through this movement thatthe lever is manipulated in conjunction with the stop plate or controlquadrant to be described.

As shown in Fig. l, the outer end of the shaft 35 is flattened toreceive the pin 60 andthe lower end of the lever is forked to pass overthis portion of the shaft. The shaft is also provided with a forwardlyextending ledge 6I and a hood 62 on the lever surrounds this extension.A light spring B3 between the ledge 6I and the hood 62 tends to hold thelever in vertical position.

On the inner face of the lever 40 is a U-shaped bearing plate 65, `thecorners of which are rounded and the fiat surface of which is held inlight yielding contact with the outer end of a pin 66 when the lever isin vertical or neutral position.

This pin 6B is slidably mounted in the sleeve 42 which forms the axis ofthe gear 39. The inner or rear end of the pin is reduced and in thespace thus provided in the sleeve is located the coil spring 58, therear end of which retained by closing in the rear end'of the sleeve. Thepin 65 projects beyond the'main body of the lever arm 55 where it isthreaded into and held by a cotter pin or the like in a cross pin 69 inthe upper forked end of a supplemental lever arm 1U. v

The lever arm 55 is made in two parallel sections 552- and 55b which areclamped at their upper ends about the projecting end of the sleeve 42 bya bolt 12. The lower endsof the sections 55a and 55" are received andclamped over -a shaft 14 on which the supplemental lever 10 is pivotallymounted. In the lower end of lever 10 is a' threaded pin 15 the outerend ofwhichyis provided with a ball-shaped head 16 overwhich is receiveda socket piece 11 secured to the upper end of the rod 56.

It will be seen that as thelever 4Il-ls moved assenso fore and aft torotate themaster gear 28, the redit raised 'and lowered to actuate thethrottle by the bodily movement of thelever assembly 55. However, when'the lever 40 is moved sidewise while in neutral position, the pin 66will --be moved infth'e sleeve 42 and this will rock the .portion theplate is broken out to provide -a guide 'q2 into which the pin B6projects so as to permit the movement of the lever to accelerate theengine during neutral.

To the right ci? the center, as viewed in Fig. 9,

the plate is provided with abrupt stop 84 which "will arrest themovement of -the lever at what may be designated the forward idle speedwhich, most engines, v'should be about 600 R. P. VThis is 'after thegear 30 `has moved to its full extent and the engine is 'still at thesame speed as'in neutral. The pilot will move the lever to this point inoperating the clutch before any acceleration of 'the motor takes place.He may then-move the lever 40 sid'ewise over the-stop 84 and by furtherarcuate movement. regulate the speed of the engine in cruising.

On the reverse side of the quadrant a shallow stop 86 is provided which`corresponds to the fpoint '84, being the 'idle a's'tern at about 600 R.l?. at which point the throttle is inthe same Tse'ttin'g' 'as neutral.Due to the forces exerted v'u'fhen 'the engine may be 'suddenly throwninto reverse to 'avoid a collision or the like, the engine may'e'as'ilybe stalled if itis'not running at higher vthan idle speed. For thisrea'son the stop 86 is `-vshallow so that the lever, due to the rounded-edge on plate U5, will readily ride over it and move to a 'second 'stop81 which :may be designated as high idle astern of about 900 R. P. M.This 'is a suiiicient speed to prevent the engine from stalling when itis called upon to suddenly reverse the direction of propeller vmovementfrom rapid forward motion and is a valuable feature as it eliminatesystalling of the engine when an emergency stop or reversal of the boatis called for. The stop 81 is provided for by the plate 89 on thequadrant. In the form of the invention shown in the drawings the plate89 is adjustable along the quadrant. Higher speeds in reverse may be hadby shifting the lever over the stop 81 as in forward.

It will be seen that a very simple, compact and easily operated devicehas been perfected by which the operation of power craft may becontrolled. The device is as near foolproof as it seems possible todesign. No especial skill or practice is necessary to master itsoperation and it will not only save the clutch, but will preventaccidents because the device responds automatically to the instinctiveactions of a power boat operator confronted with a sudden emergency.

What is claimed is:

1. In a mechanism for operating the clutch and throttle of an enginecomprising a set of interrupted gears, comprising a driving gear and twodriven gears rotated thereby, one of said driven gears being adapted tobe operatively connected to the throttle and the other driven gear beingadapted to be operatively connected to the clutch, said second namedgear being actuated by the "6 Vdriving gear during the interval .thatthe .first named gear is idle. a pivoted lever movable in "two planesand connected to the driving gear Vto rotate it during .movement in oneplane, and opera'- tive connections to the throttle actuated by themovement of thelever in the other plane.

i2. In a mechanism for operating the clutch and throttle of an enginecomprising "a master"gear having its periphery formed 'with two toothedsegments separated b'y 'a smooth segment and. a third 'toothed segmentopposite the said smooth segment, a Vsecond gear having a smooth segmentand a toothed segment engageable with either of the lsaid two toothedsegments as the mas-ter gear is rotated in opposite directions and athird gear having a toothed :segment engageabl'e with 'the third toothedsegment on the master gear, con-,- nections from the second gear for"the throttle and from the third gear for the clutch', independentthrottle operating means bypassing the master gear, yand a single manualcontrol operative Vselectively to rotate 4the master lgear -or 'to`actu'ate the independent throttle operating means. j

3. A 'mechanism as set forth `in 'claim -2in which the Vmanual controlis va 'lever pivoted on the shaft of the master gear. i

4. In a control device for ya marine engine as vset forth, a drivinggear and a driven gear meshing therewith through spacedarc'son'opposite'sides of ja neutral arc, a @crank arm carriedb'y the drivengear, a pivoted lever on the lcrank arm, 'a throttle operating meanscarried by the said lever, and mea-ns to Amove =the said lever on 'itspivot' on the crank arm to 'move the `throttle op'- erating means Whilethe'crank arm and the dr-iving gear are stationary. v

5. In a kcontrol device for 'a marine engine 'as setforth. a drivinggear and `adriven gear meshiing therewith through -spaced arcs on-Ioppos'it'e sides of a yneutral arc,ja crank 'arm carried by vthedriven gear, a pivoted lever on vthe crank arm, 'a 4throttle operatingmeans carried by the sa'idlever, a manually operated control armvpivoted to 'the shaft of the driving. gear, rand a pin .passing throughVthe shaft o f kthe driven gear `and corrnected at one end to the saidpivoted"lever`, tlie other end of said Vpin being in register With'thecontrol arm when vthe driven gear is out o'f mesh with the driving gear.

6. In a control device for a marine engine as set forth, a driving gearand a driven gear meshing therewith through spaced arcs on oppositesides of a neutral arc, a crank arm carried by the driven gear, apivoted lever on the crank arm, a throttle operating means carried bythe said lever, a manually operated control arm for rotating the drivinggear, and means actuated by the movement of the control arm while thegears u are stationary to rock the pivoted lever independently of thecrank arm.

7. In a control device for a marine engine asl set forth, a driving gearand a driven gear meshing therewith through spaced arcs on oppositesides of a neutral arc, a crank arm carried by the driven gear, apivoted lever on the crank arm, a

throttle operating means carried by the said lever,vv

and a control means movable in two planes and operative to rotate thedriving gear While movable in one plane and to rock the pivoted leverindependently of the crank arm while it is moved in the other plane.

8. In a mechanism as described in claim 4 having clutch operating meansoperated by the move- -thereby first to operate the clutch, and placethe engine 4either in forward or reverse and then to openthe throttle, asector over which the lever `moves during the rocking movement of theshaft, fsaidlever being located at a midway point on the -sector whenthe engine is idling, stops located on either side of the midway pointto arrest the lever and the rock shaft after the clutch has been enigaged, and theoperating lever being movable on the pivot to clear thestops and permit further movement of the rock shaft beyond the stops toopen the throttle further, and means for operating the throttleindependently of the rocking .movement of the rock shaft, said lastnamed means being located at the midway point on the sectory and in thepath of the lever and operated thereby as the lever moves on its pivot.

10. Acontrol device for operating the clutch and the throttle of amarine engine, said device comprising a rock shaft, mechanism connectedto the rock shaft and operable thereby rst to operate the clutch toplace the engine either in forward or reverse and then to open saidthrottle, an operating lever pivotally mounted on the rock fshaft, asector over which the lever moves duringthe rocking movement of theshaft, said lever being located at a midway point on the sector when theengine is idling, a stop in the path of the lever as it moves to operatethe clutch to place the engine in reverse, said stop being so located asto arrest the movement of the lever when the throttle has openedsufciently to impart speed to the engine above idling speed, said .leverclearing the stop when it is rocked about the pivot Von the rock shaftto permit further open# ing of the throttle, and means for operating theVthrottle independently of the rocking movement of' th'erock shaft, saidlast named means being located at the midway point on the sector andwhen the lever is rocked about its pivot.

115A control device for operating the clutch in the path of the leverand operated thereby and the'throttle of a marine engine, said devicecomprising a rock shaft, mechanism connected to the rock shaft andoperable thereby first to operate the clutch to place the engine eitherin forward or reverse and then to open said throttle, an operating armmovably mounted on the rock shaft, a sector over which the operating armmoves during the rocking movement of the shaft, said arm being locatedat a midway point on the sector When the engine is idling, a stop in thepath of the arm as it moves away from said midway point to operate theclutch and place the engine in reverse, said stop being so located as toarrest the movement of the operating arm after the rock shaft hasoperated the clutch and after the throttle has opened suflciently tocause the engine to operate above idling speed. the movement of saidoperating arm on the rock shaft clearing the stop to permit movement ofthe operating arm beyond the stop, and means for operating the throttleindependently of the rocking movement of the rock shaft, said last'named means being located at the midway point on the sector and actuatedby the movement of the operating arm on the rock shaft.

JOHN F. MORSE. l

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in th iile ofthis patent: y

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 539,154 Thomas May 14, 18951,089,615 Wyman Mar. 10, 1914 1,527,247 Boillon Feb. 24, 1925 2,015,553Exner Sept. 24, 1935 2,219,601 Quartullo Oct. 29. 1940 2,254,144 HigginsAug. 26, 1941 2,330,388 Scott-Paine Sept. 28, 1943 2,368,877 Purvin Feb.6, 1945 2,454,485 Snell Nov. 23, 1948 2,460,599 Rowe Feb. 1, 19492,480,521 Thompson Aug. 30, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date8,514 Great Britain 1893

